Completely Unexpected
by cmartlover
Summary: After an adventure with his wife, the Doctor is left feeling very confused by her strange behavior. River battles feelings of nausea and encounters an unexpected shock, in more ways than one. Little do they both know that the situation is more serious than either could have ever imagined. Babyfic.
1. Discovery

**Author's Note: So, I've had this idea for a while. I may make this a prequel to my other story, Counting the Cost, but I don't know. This is a babyfic, and it includes a River that is still in Stormcage, and an older Doctor(probably Series 8ish). I hope you enjoy it. Remember that reviews are greatly appreciated.**

**Note:This fic has been slightly revised since its original publishing.**

* * *

After dodging a series of bullets and what-not, the curly haired woman and the man in the bow tie nearly collapsed into the control room, both of them overjoyed to be within the safety of the TARDIS.

The Doctor quickly snapped his fingers, breathing a sigh of relief as the doors closed in response.

He staggered backwards, before suddenly stopping, content to rest against the sturdy console. His wife collapsed beside him, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she took a few moments to catch her breath.

A bead of sweat trickled down River's forehead, and the Doctor, being the gentleman that he was, quickly rose to wipe it away.

"Phew! That was a close one! You alright?" he gasped, inhaling deeply and at the same time waiting for his wife's response.

River grinned, strapping her gun back into its holster.

"What sort of question is that? Of course, I am! That was the most fun I've had in weeks!" she managed to admit, a hearty laugh escaping her throat.

The Doctor beamed.

"I thought they nearly had us there for a minute…that is until you…um…did the thing with the gun…you know…" his eyes trailed down to her belt and back up to her face. She shot him a smirk, and the Doctor felt the heat rising in his cheeks. He pretended to be cross,"…Even though I _told_ you not to use it because I knew that they would only start firing back at us…which they did…and then we barely made it out alive…" he trailed off, hopefully making his point.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Sweetie! I'm not the one who decided it would be a good idea to try to reason with a hoard of heavily armed, carnivorous aliens. What did you think they were going to do? Invite us to tea? Befriend us? Frankly if it wasn't for me you probably would have gotten eaten back there. Besides…" her voice had raised an octave as she fingered the weapon at her hip. "You know you like it…" River fluttered her lashes suggestively, amused by the Doctor's sudden awkward behavior.

"Yeah, well…I mean…Yeah…" the man in the bow tie gulped, watching as his wife's cheeks tipped upward into a smile.

"Oh, shut up." She shot back, quickly looping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a passionate kiss.

Startled, the Doctor stiffened at first, trying to remember where to place his hands before crashing his lips against hers with a fiery passion that echoed her own.

Out of breath, River drew back, secretly amused by the redness that had since entered her husband's cheeks.

An odd sense of lightheadedness suddenly overwhelmed her, though she assumed it was just an aftereffect of the kiss. The Doctor, however, was too preoccupied to notice.

Clapping his hands together and avoiding River's gaze, the raggedy man quickly focused his attention elsewhere.

"Right, then! Now, to get us out of here!" his hands flailed about nervously, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

In seconds, his fingers were either fumbling over levers or tapping in coordinates on the typewriter-like instrument.

Glancing over his shoulder, the Doctor waited, still half-expecting River to jump in and pilot the way she saw fit, which, in fairness, was probably better than him using his supposedly 'well-seasoned' methods of flying the TARDIS.

When his wife didn't try to steal the controls from him, the man in the bow tie conceded that she must have been behaving strangely for some reason or another.

His eyes scanned her more intently, noticing the sudden lack of color in her face and the rather odd way she pressed one hand on her forehead, the other against her stomach.

Wait, was River ill or something? Why else would she be behaving so strangely?

"River…are you feeling okay? Did I say something to upset you or…" the Doctor stopped, scratching his cheek nervously.

He watched as River's expression changed. Plastering a smile to her face, River reassured him.

"No, no, Sweetie. I'm fine. Just a bit winded. I suppose it's just all that running catching up with me." She tried to sound confident, but even then, her husband was hardly convinced.

Since when did River get drained that easily? She ran practically all the time, what, between escaping from the Stormcage Containment Facility, visiting her parents and traveling on adventures with him to who-knew-where.

Drawing nearer to his wife, the man in the bow tie placed a steady hand upon her shoulder.

"Are you sure, River? I mean, if you're not feeling so hot we can always forget the reservations for tonight and just go some other night…I mean, this is a time machine, after all." He spun around to face her.

Her eyes widened at this suggestion.

"It's alright, Doctor. We needn't do anything of the sort. I'm perfectly fine, now, so don't you start worrying. But speaking of reservations, I suppose I'd—_we'd_ better get dressed." Eyeing their soiled garments, River made her point, at the same time brushing off the Doctor's concerns.

"Um…okay…I'll just…erm…leave you to it, then." The Doctor stuttered, watching as River turned towards the corridor that led to her own personal bigger-on-the-inside wardrobe.

She must have sensed his paranoia because she soon halted, briefly moving back towards him.

"Sweetie, I told you, already. I'm fine, _really_. No need to fuss or get emotional, all right? Now, go ahead and get dressed while I select something more suitable…" River hinted, before proceeding out of the console room.

Part of him wanted to follow her, especially since he was fairly convinced she was hiding something from him, but instead he sensed her need for a few minutes of privacy.

Fingering his spotted brown bow-tie and eying his grey-colored waistcoat, the Doctor huffed.

Personally, he didn't think he needed to change his outfit. After all, he looked dapper enough in whatever he wore—soiled or not. He could pull anything off (though it just so happened that nobody else seemed to agree).

But out of the necessity to look his very best and more importantly, impress his lovely wife, the Doctor soon found himself rushing down the corridor towards the place where his own clothing was stashed.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the elegantly clad man in the top hat wrung his hands together nervously, pacing about the console.

He'd known from experience that sometimes it took River a little while to change, but in light of her recent behavior, the Doctor, of course, overthought things, and took that as a sign that something was terribly wrong.

What if she _was_ sick? For all he knew, she could be infected with some sort of nasty bug or mysterious illness. And if she was, it was probably his fault.

Bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet, the Doctor began to part his lips, just about ready to call out to his wife, or else go and find her himself.

"Riv—" he started, but didn't get very far before he became suddenly distracted.

It was then that the familiar click-clacking of heels filled his ears like a pleasant melody as his wife made her entrance.

One look and his hearts melted.

River was wearing a TARDIS blue, knee-length, V-neck dress that fitted her perfectly.

The Doctor gulped, momentarily forgetting his previous concerns.

She'd obviously redone her makeup because she didn't look near as pale as she had before. He supposed that was confirmation enough that she must have been feeling better.

"So…erm…River…" he coughed into his fist, imagining that he must have looked pretty pathetic in comparison to her. "You look…wonderful…" the Doctor blurted out, though in fact, that was a massive understatement.

His cheeks blazed as he felt the intensity of her gaze as she scanned his outfit. Apparently she approved, going by the way she was smirking.

"I could say the same for you, though personally, I have a bit of a _different_ word in mind…" her voice became flirtatious, causing the Doctor to blush up to his ears. Why did she have to _say_ things like that?

Perhaps she was back to being her normal self, after all.

Once he had finally gathered enough sense to take his eyes off of River, the man in the bow tie remembered why they were getting dressed up in the first place.

"Right, then! Off we go to the Gallisto Café on Alpha 6 in the 42nd Century. Just wait and see, Dear, you'll love this!" he galloped to the TARDIS console, pulling levers and such.

This time, he supposed that she would barge in as usual and fly the Old Girl, herself, but instead, River seemed intent on leaving the Doctor to his own devices. There had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, the man mused wearily to himself. Maybe she had finally decided that he was a better driver (but, no, that couldn't be right, never in a million years, especially since they both knew perfectly well that it wasn't true).

"River…" he glanced over at her, watching as she quickly removed her hand from her stomach and placed it beside her pistol.

Something was definitely wrong—whether it regarded her physical or emotional health, he honestly had no idea. He decided it would be best not to press her. River would hopefully admit the truth on her own time.

The whirring-chirring noise filled their ears.

"We've landed." She declared, feigning a look of excitement, which the Doctor took to be genuine.

Grabbing her hand, he gently pulled her towards the TARDIS exit-way.

He quickly peeked out of the doors, his eyes immediately noting the surroundings.

"Okay, so, maybe not the 42nd Century…more like the 39th, but that's just a minor consolation…"

River managed to laugh.

Oh, so that was why she hadn't bothered to fly his ship. She had wanted to trip him up. That made much more sense.

"Ha, ha, very funny, River. Out we go, then." The Doctor and his wife bounded out of the blue box hand in hand.

Taking note of the 'Please Seat Yourself' sign, the man in the bow tie settled on a tiny table for two in the back corner.

"After you, Dr. Song," he gestured politely for her to take a seat.

"Thank you, Sweetie." She chided back, making herself comfortable.

In a matter of seconds, a rather primitive robot (at least, according to the Doctor, it was) approached their table.

"Hello. Thank you for visiting the Gallisto Café. To your right is the famous Arc-en-ciel City, said to be one of the seven wonders of the Alpha Matrix system. The buildings themselves are constructed of pure crystal, and when the light from our sun is refracted, the rainbow effect that you see here is created." The automated voice continued, but the couple had since stopped listening.

Taking River's hand, the Doctor pointed to the astounding sight that glistened through the windows, a smug grin etched across his face. This was the reason he had wanted to take her here in the first place.

He watched as her green-tinged eyes widened, a beautiful array of light reflected in them. Peering out himself, the man in the bow tie was awed by the rainbow-like aura that poured throughout the city and its crystal structures.

"That's…beautiful…" River breathed, her voice filled with wonder. And yet the Doctor still sensed a sort of pain in her expression, though she tried ever so hard to hide it.

By then, the robot waiter had finished the extensive introduction and gotten to the part where they were supposed to place their order.

"…I am R-463, I will be your waiter for today. Are you ready to place your order?" the droid's monotone voice finally stopped.

"Yes, yes, we're ready." The Doctor decided, eager to get the annoying robot to pipe down.

"I have just activated the holographic menus that you now see in front of you. When you have made your selection, tell me what you wish to order and a message will automatically be sent to the kitchen."

Pressing a hand to her forehead, River studied the menu, though not very intently by the look of it. Her husband, however, had already chosen his dinner selection long before their arrival.

"Let's see, I'll have the Chicken Anbeta Salad." She spoke almost hesitantly, as if she had suddenly lost her appetite.

The Doctor cringed.

"And your drink, miss?"

"Water, just water, please." River ignored the Doctor's apparent surprise.

Since when did his wife drink water when they dined at a fancy restaurant? Usually she selected wine or else champagne, so this was a rather strange move.

"And you, sir?" the robot asked the Doctor.

"Oh, I'll take fish fingers and custard, with a pot of coffee and Jammie Dodgers," he declared triumphantly, as River rolled her eyes, revealing her obvious irritation.

"That does not compute."

"What? This place has one of the largest varieties of cuisine for this time period, and you seriously are about to tell me that you don't have…" he pointed his finger at the robot.

"Sweetie…"

"Yeah, well fat lot of good that is!" the Doctor huffed.

"Sweetie…"

"I will repeat the question, what would you like, sir?"

"I already told you—" he started, but was forcefully cut off by his wife.

"He'll take the same thing as me. I'm sorry for the confusion." River explained, quite breathlessly.

"No, I won't that's…" His mouth was smothered by his wife's hand.

"That would be 35 galactic credits. Please purchase your order at this time."

Pulling out the psychic paper, the man in the bow tie 'paid' for their food.

"Thank you. I will return with your selections shortly." With that, the robot waiter skidded toward another table.

As soon as it had left, the Doctor tore River's fingers from his lips.

"River, I was handling the situation perfectly! And you just had to have me order the same thing as you. _Salad_. Seriously? That's so boring and rubbish and…" the sight of River's constricted face caught his attention and he immediately stopped jabbering on about something that was quite honestly unimportant. "River, what's wrong? Talk to me, Dear. Look, I'm sorry for putting up a fuss…you see…I…"

"I'm fine, Sweetie. Just starving, is all." She gave another unlikely excuse. He could tell by the flicker of pain in her eyes that eating was probably the last thing on her mind.

Her husband recognized that familiar hurt concealed within those blue-green irises. Pain. Desperation. The resolve to remain strong for his sake, never once faltering to show any sign of weakness.

His hearts wrenched as he recalled an all-too-familiar scene, one that seemed like ages ago for him, but had not yet happened to her. Manhattan.

He could still remember that notorious day so vividly, could still feel the rigid scars of her broken wrist, the damage she had been forced to hide because of his own lack of restraint.

It had stung then, and it stung now, perhaps even more intently.

And one thing was for sure, the Doctor did not for a second want to repeat his past mistakes.

_Why can't we just be honest with each other? Why is she doing this? She doesn't feel well, and she keeps lying about it. I don't understand… what's the matter with her…?_

"No, you are most certainly not fine! You're acting so strangely today, so just tell me what's bothering you. I'm the Doctor, after all, I can help." He pleaded, entangling her fingers in his.

"Really, my love, I don't need you to worry about me. There's nothing wrong. Whatever it was it has passed now."

He opened his mouth to protest, but soon realized that River's focus had turned back towards the magnificent lights display.

"Thank you for bringing me here. It's such an incredible view. But how does that work exactly—the rainbow effect? And why did it make a difference whether we came here in the 39th Century or the 42nd?" his ever intuitive wife inquired of him, expecting some kind of well-formulated, intelligent response.

Which is exactly what her husband gave her.

* * *

Secretly lodging a hand to her aching stomach, the curly haired woman battled the nauseating pain.

On the surface, she was conversing with the Doctor, but in reality she didn't understand a word of what he was going on about. It wasn't that she didn't care; it was just that she couldn't seem to focus, what, with the unfamiliar hurt swelling in her abdomen.

His mouth was moving, very rapidly, at that, but River drowned out his words. The only reason she'd asked to begin with had been for this very purpose, to drive him on a rant, so she could figure out exactly what sort of illness or sickness she was dealing with.

She'd vainly supposed that the stomach aches would have passed by now, but instead they intensified by the second and her forehead was also flaming.

Trembling slightly, the Child of the TARDIS wondered how this was even possible. She was part-Time Lord, she hardly ever got sick. This made absolutely no sense, whatsoever.

As her nausea began to increase, River grew faint, wondering how long she could take this without giving herself away.

Thankfully, before matters could progress any further, the robot waiter returned with their meals.

"Thank God." She muttered under her breath, slightly relieved to hear her husband quiet down for a brief moment.

Before taking his food, the Doctor handed a salad and a glass of water to his wife.

"Thank you," River managed, trying to force a smile.

Despite her husband's previous complaints, he apparently was hungry enough to consume something other than his typical, ridiculous concoctions (not that he would call them that).

"Bon Appetit!" she vaguely heard him say as he twiddled his fork, bringing the lettuce to his mouth.

Staring down at her food blankly, River inhaled the scent of the dressing, her eyes glazing over the grilled chicken bits and various green vegetables. And suddenly the very smell of it was galling enough to make her want to gag. She tried to breathe deeply, wanting to hold herself together for at least a little while longer.

"You know, it's not really chicken, it's actually…" he rambled on incessantly, his voice grating her nerves.

Her stomach wasn't the only part of her body hurting, and now she realized she had quite a massive headache, and it probably didn't help that her husband wouldn't shut his bloody mouth.

Trying to drown him out, River reexamined her meal, the sight of it causing her stomach to lurch abruptly. She couldn't stand it anymore. River was fairly certain she was about to hurl.

"That's nice, Honey. But if you'll just excuse me, I think I left something in the TARDIS…" pushing her chair back, the curly haired woman found herself staggering over towards the blue box.

"Wait, River, are you…" but she was already too far away to hear anything other than indistinguishable mumblings.

Thrusting herself through the doors, River burst into the time machine, trudging quickly out of the console room, and straight into the first door to appear, which, thankfully happened to be a bathroom.

She crouched down, her knees slightly chilled by the tingling sensation of the tile against her skin.

Gripping the toilet, River slumped over it, opening her mouth and beginning to cough as a fiery sensation exploded from her stomach and raced up her throat and into the clear pool of water.

Another burst of pain swept over her, and the tears pricked her cheeks as she hurled her guts out for the second time. Her abdominal muscles crunched again and the motion was repeated several times, until River finally stopped barfing, catching her breath as her body went numb.

Her throat was burning and the stench of her own stomach acid filled the air.

Breathing in short bursts, River tried to rid herself of the sudden feeling of lightheadedness.

She half-wondered where the Doctor was, especially since he was bound to figure out that something was terribly wrong. But what was it, exactly? The question poured through River's mind.

Drawing in another breath, the curly haired woman clutched the scanner beside her.

"Med-scan me, now!" she rasped, her voice barely audible.

What was happening to her, was it really simply a stomach bug, or was it something more?

"Oh, my go-"

One look was all it took. River crumbled to the floor, the words she had read just a moment ago still processing in her mind.

_'Pregnancy Scan: Positive.'_

Her hand instinctively hovered over her stomach, and she could only wonder why she hadn't realized before. Well, the thought had never occurred to her. After all, this was supposedly impossible, right? So how could this be happening?

Certain she was hallucinating, River confirmed her previous deduction by glancing at the scanner again.

_So, this is morning sickness, am I right? I would have never thought…this can't be happening…we're not biologically compatible…this doesn't make any sense…I can't really be pregnant, can I?…And if I am, I certainly can't tell him…_

Gathering her strength, the woman rose to her feet, feeling a lot less nauseous than she had just a few minutes before.

She hardly even knew what she doing until she had already made it into the console room and out of the TARDIS blue doors.

Where was her husband, surely he would be in here by now?

"Doctor?" she managed, disturbed by the fact that he hadn't found her yet. Of course, she wasn't about to reveal to him her condition, but she wanted to ensure that he was alright.

As soon as their table entering her blurring vision, River's heart stopped.

The Doctor's head was leaning against the table, and he appeared to be unconscious.

"Doctor!"

Racing over to her husband, she flipped his face over towards her, noting the fact that his eyes were closed. She placed two fingers on his neck and detected a faint pulse.

Her head was spinning in circles, the familiar pain setting in again as she scanned the table below.

River bent down, briefly sniffing his mouth and matching the smell with the salad below.

She placed her fingertip in the dressing, bringing it to her nose for confirmation.

One whiff was all she needed. River, despite her delicate state of health, was certain of one fact, without a shadow of a doubt:

The Doctor had been poisoned.

* * *

**Note: Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to read my other fics(profile page). Please take this time to leave a review.**

**Have a great day!**


	2. Coping

**Author's Note: Okay, everyone, so I know it's been forever since I first posted this story. And I guess all I can really say is...I'm sorry. But know that I haven't given up on this story, I've just been busy in the past few months, and there hasn't been much getting around that. If you need to refresh your memory I encourage you to go back and reread the last chapter. Now, moving on, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's told entirely from River's POV. Remember that reviews are greatly appreciated.**

* * *

Everything blurred around her.

The geometric interior of the fancy restaurant, the acrimonious voices spoken various alien languages, the radiant light of the arc-en-ciel city flashing through the windows—everything. It was entirely too much. Overstimulation to the extreme.

And there he was amid the chaos, the lone figure of her husband, drooping over the small table, his body forced into a state of unconsciousness by a poison that had yet to even be identified.

Poison.

Pressing a hand against her head, River Song tried to calm herself, but to no avail.

She couldn't help but see the horrid images of a day long gone—the day a psychopathic murderer had successfully killed her target with a kiss.

Pain seeped into the dark crevices of her heart at the memory, the guilt and the fear pouring into the depths of her soul.

The last time the Doctor had been poisoned, it hadn't exactly turned out so well.

His crumpled form flickered in the surface of her mind, reminding her of the way he'd pleaded so desperately, all those years ago.

_'River, please…help me…'_

It had tugged at her heart then, and it certainly did now, but for a different reason entirely.

Looking at his still features—pale-pink lips, saggy brown hair, tightly-closed eyes, the Doctor's wife felt her chest heave.

She gathered him in her arms as gently as she could, knowing precisely what had to be done. The only thing that could be done, really.

A surge of nausea jolted through her stomach, causing her to clench her jaw and groan in pain.

"Ughhhh…" the low, pitiful sound managed to escape her throat.

Sucking in a breath, River gave a second attempt; her muscles tensing as the weight of her husband's body suddenly struck her at full force.

She released a weary sigh.

"You _idiot_…why do you have to be so_ bloody_ heavy?!"

One would have expected this rather skinny, gangly looking man to be quite easy to carry, but apparently the Doctor was heavier than he looked.

_Must be his thick head_, River reasoned, somehow finding a way to humor herself despite the situation.

This task was going to be a lot harder than she'd originally anticipated.

Mustering her remaining strength, the curly haired woman fought against the pain, lugging her husband over her shoulder.

Across the room, the TARDIS stood, glistening like a heavenly beacon, giving her child the motivation she needed to continue.

_I can't. God, I can't. It's too hard. There's just no way I can…_

River's doubts swirled in her mind, taunting, sapping the lingering hope right out of her.

A tiny droplet trickled down her cheek, as she felt the coolness of her husband's unconscious body soaking into her skin.

_It's no use. I'm too weak. I've failed him…I just… can't…do…this…_

And then, all of a sudden, a warm, enveloping light filled her body. A low, indistinct humming filled her ears, beckoning her to move forward.

_'But you _can_, my Child. You _can_. And I will help you. I will help you save my thief.'_

The moments that followed were but a convoluted mess, blurring together at the edges of River's mind, becoming nothing more than the faded remnants of what felt like a sort of dream. Only, it wasn't. Not really.

Before she knew it, River found herself within the comforting confines of the TARDIS, its sheer-white, Gallifreyan lined console arousing her senses.

Her bow-tie wearing husband still rested against her body, so she softly laid him down upon the floor of the control room.

"There you go, my love." She muttered amid the peaceful stillness of the ship, her fingers stroking the Doctor's hair absentmindedly.

"Voice Interface, come on, _emergency_!" her voice reached a crescendo in a matter of seconds, resounding through the long corridors of the time machine.

Her heart thudded in her chest, a constant reminded of the direness of the situation.

A holographic image appeared before her.

Gasping, River could scarcely believe she wasn't dreaming.

She'd thought it would've been the Doctor, or perhaps a younger version of her mother, though it was, in fact the last person she'd ever expected, but nonetheless, as she now realized, the one person she'd needed the most.

The Last Centurion, clad in Roman garb and all. Rory Williams.

"Voice Interface enabled." Her father's deep, monotone voice graced River's ears.

"Dad…" an awestruck River Song commented, despite knowing full well that this was nothing more than a visual representation of her father.

"I am not Rory Williams. I am a Voice Interface."

_Yeah, like I don't know that. _

"Okay, sorry, just a bit surprised, you understand. Right, so…how is he doing?" Biting her lip, River stiffened, secretly dreading the answer.

"His system has been contaminated by the poison known as Khaloramus, lethal to humanoids, Dryconians, Rexacoricaphalipitorians…"

The list continued, and River's body trembled, for she dreaded to hear the sound of the Doctor's long lost two-hearted race.

"Yes, but is it lethal…is it lethal…to…Time Lords?"

"Species with binary-vascular systems are susceptible to side effects including unconsciousness, cardiac arrest, loss of speech…and finally, death, if not treated within 30 minutes of exposure."

That last bit unnerved River, causing her pulse to skyrocket.

How long had it been? She'd only recently discovered the reality of her…condition, and that must have been at least ten minutes if not more. And as for the time it had taken to find him unconscious and carry him into the TARDIS, well, there was no way to know, really.

All she knew for certain that she had to get her husband proper treatment as soon as possible.

"What do I do? There's treatment, you say? A cure?" River spat, voicing her thoughts in short bursts.

"Affirmative. The antidote must be administered within the next three minutes or else the Time Lord will perish. Chances of regeneration are highly improbable." The nonchalant voice carried on, as if the Doctor's impending death mattered not in the slightest.

"Where can I find this antidote?"

"Checking systems…"

"Come on, hurry up, we haven't got much time!" her furious outburst was an external effect of internal fear as well as physical nausea.

"Systems confirm. Antidote found within the stock of the TARDIS medical facility. Must be administered within two minutes and thirty seconds…"

"Alright, alright. Are the TARDIS' teleporting circuits on-line?"

"Confirmed. Circuits on-line."

"Teleport us to the med-bay!" Closing her eyes firmly, River cradled her husband in her arms, fighting the burning sensation that rushed through her body as the teleporting beam surrounded them.

To be honest, she hadn't even been sure if it would work, as she'd only seen the Doctor use the teleporting circuits once before.

Nevertheless, as always, the faithful Old Girl did her part. Within seconds, the curly haired woman's eyes fluttered open, and she immediately recognized the white-walled interior of the Medical Bay.

River grasped her husband, propping him onto the small medical cot as best she could.

Her breathing quickened as she frantically rose to find the antidote, hoping the TARDIS had placed it in an accessible place.

Sure enough, one hasty scan and River recognized a tiny syringe positioned on the table beside the Doctor's bed.

Noting that it was correctly labeled, she focused her mental energy on reading the instructions, which was slightly difficult considering the fact that she was once again on the verge of vomiting.

"Let's see. Instructions: Inject syringe into patient's arm…" Although there was a considerable description following that statement, River considered this information to be sufficient.

Despite having little idea of the side effects that might result, River ripped the suit jacket off her husband, undoing his dress-shirt with equal celerity. Without a second thought, she plunged the needle-like point of the syringe into his right arm in record time.

"Please work, please work, please work…" she begged, clasping her husband's still hand.

After sensing little change in his condition, the Doctor's wife placed two fingers on his wrist, detecting only a faint pulse. And it was growing even fainter by the second.

"Doctor, please, come on…wake up…" her voice was suddenly high-pitched, fear-etched. Had this been any normal circumstance, such a reaction would have been completely unacceptable. But, then again, discovering she was pregnant and her husband had been poisoned within a period of about two minutes wasn't exactly what she would call an ordinary situation. Not by any stretch of imagination.

"Doctor, you have to fight it! Don't give in! Wake up, okay? Doctor, do you hear me? Wake up, _please."_ His wife pleaded once again, her blue-green tinged eye beginning to swell with tears. It didn't help that she already felt awful enough as it was. What, with Morning Sickness and all.

If her husband died today, River Song would never forgive herself. This would have never happened if she hadn't been so intent on ordering the chicken Anbeta salad.

She shouldn't have ever left him. She should've been there; it didn't matter that she'd felt sick to her stomach. Her husband had needed her and she'd abandoned him.

_Look at him now. _A dark, menacing voice taunted from deep within.

"I…I'm sorry…my love…" River breathed, a sob escaping her throat, as she touched her husband's cheek.

This time, she fingered the pulse in his neck, heart breaking at the sudden realization. But she didn't move, didn't stiffen, instead feeling the nearly indistinct melody of his life-song, the rhythm of the blood pumping through his veins.

Waning.

Waning.

Waning.

Gone.

_No._

On the inside River screamed, her stomach convulsing in agony, as reality smacked her in the face.

For a moment, she remained motionless, staring at her husband's still body, hoping against hope that maybe just maybe he'd come out of this…

Well, she didn't have long to wait because without warning the now shirtless Doctor suddenly jolted upwards, his ancient eyes popping open instantly.

"Doctor?" River responded weakly, terrified that she might be hallucinating.

"Owwwwwwwww…" the Doctor moaned, his pupils dilating as he stared into nothingness.

His hand clutched his heart, the left one, and he groaned.

"Doctor, what is it? What do you need?"

But he didn't even acknowledge her; instead his green irises stared right through his wife as if she hadn't been there at all.

He began to tremble ravenously, and River clutched his hand even tighter, tears spilling down her cheeks as she did so. Oh, how she hated crying.

"Honey, I'm here, I'm here, you're safe, my love, there's no need to…"

The Doctor's face paled, his cries resounding across the room.

"I—I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! It's not my fault! I didn't have a choice!" small droplets flooded out of his eyes, as he spoke to literally nobody, seemingly lost in his own world. "I had to do it! They would have destroyed everything, the entire universe and I couldn't let that happen!"

"Sweetie, what are you talking about?" River demanded, trying to get him to respond, but to no avail.

"Stop it! Stop it! Don't show me, not again! I don't want to see my family, my children. They're dead. Dead. Dead. DEAD. I didn't have a choice…the Time Lords…they'd….gone…too…far; had…to…stop…them…" His body tensed, his eyes suddenly snapping shut as he reverted to a sleeping position.

Oh.

It wasn't until that moment that River fully realized what was going on. The Doctor was dreaming about the one event that weighed such heavy guilt upon his heart that she could scarcely imagine the burden of it.

The Time War.

She could only wonder why she hadn't realized it before; it wasn't as if this was a unique occurrence.

Sweat poured down his forehead, a product of whatever nightmare he was having.

Running her fingers over his sweat-drenched hair, his wife continued her efforts to calm him.

"Doctor, it's alright. It's me, River, your wife. The Time War's over, Honey. Long over. You've moved on from that, Sweetie. It's been over three-hundred years for you. Hush now, and try your best to sleep. And remember that you are loved. Always and completely." Her heart-filled speech apparently must have soothed the delusional Doctor to some extent, as his expression visibly changed and he finally relaxed, if only a little bit.

River placed her hand gently over his chest, relieved as the rise and fall steadied, his breathing becoming more regular.

"Sleep well, Honey." She planted a gentle kiss on his pale lips, genuinely hoping he would get some well-needed rest.

The Doctor didn't even stir, now caught in a deep sleep, which was slightly odd, considering River had only administered the drug to him mere minutes before.

Grasping the syringe once again, River tried to reread the label, this time more thoroughly.

"Side Effects: Hallucinations, Drowsiness, Discomfort…Okay, well, his reaction seems perfectly normal then…" her vision faltered as she began to feel rather ill herself. "Really, of all the times I…"

But she didn't finish that sentence, suddenly overwhelmed by the unsettling urge to throw up.

Propelled by the tight crunch of her stomach and the acid that was making its way up her esophagus, River Song raced over to the nearby bathroom.

Oddly enough, it looked exactly like the one she'd used earlier, not that she really had any time or the strength to notice.

She clutched the toilet, hurling yet again as the pain ravaged her body. Then a second time. And a third. And a fourth.

By the end, she was quite winded, her stomach muscles convulsing.

"Blimey, how long is this supposed to last?" she wondered, her fingers moving to the scanner beside her.

"Tell me everything there is to know about morning sickness." The machine bleeped in response. "Let's see then, 'start's around 4-6 weeks of pregnancy, most women don't feel relief until up to 14 weeks?' What? Surely it can't last _that_ long. There'd be no way to hide it from him at that rate…unless…"

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

"If I could just find a high-level perception filter, I might be able to keep this secret hidden." She decided, still wondering where she could acquire such a device.

But, for the moment it didn't matter. What was important was that she got back to her ill-faring husband.

Feeling less nauseous, River stood up, thrusting herself out the door and back beside the bed where the Doctor slept silently.

Her eyes scanned his now less-pale face and her heart throbbed. Even after years of marriage, her husband could do the strangest things to her.

Oh, how she wished she could tell him the impossible truth that she had just recently discovered about herself, but alas, she knew that could never be. For all she knew, she could miscarry, after all, she hadn't even dreamed a pregnancy of this sort was possible in the first place, and the Doctor hadn't ever mentioned it either, so the chances of her losing the baby were fairly high.

Baby.

The realization suddenly dawned upon her, and she couldn't help but finger her stomach lovingly, fondly.

This wasn't just a nauseating condition, or miniscule bunch of cells growing inside of her, this was a living being, her child, the Doctor's child, _their_ baby, no matter what physical stage it was in. If her husband had taught her anything, it was that life, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant, had its value.

So she couldn't just treat this like a thing that could be lost within a fleeting moment. River had to do everything in her power to keep this baby alive. Sure, it would be dangerous and heartbreaking, but bringing a new Time Lord into the world was worth the risk.

"I won't let you down, I promise." She whispered silently to her unborn child, knowing the Doctor wouldn't hear.

Slowly, her eyelids began to flutter back and forth, her sight waning as fatigue set into her body. Fear stirred from within, as she realized she had so much to think about, had to find out why he'd been poisoned in the first place.

But she was too tired, too worn-out to even consider it. There was always tomorrow, after all.

Exhaustion rippled through her entire being, as she closed her eyes without consciously thinking about what she was doing.

Her head rested softly on her husband's shoulder and she leaned on him, one hand placed over one of his hearts, the other placed on her midsection, where their baby rested inside of her.

And there River Song lay, content, if only for a brief moment, with the family she'd never thought she'd have; the most impossible, ridiculous miracle of all.

* * *

**Note: So, I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to check out some of my other stories (profile page). Hopefully I'll be better on updating in the future, but that honestly depends on whether people are still interested.**

**So, if I may ask so kindly, please take this time to leave a review.**

**Have a wonderful day!**

**P.S. On a side note, there's been a wonderful influx of news today about the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special, so please be sure to check that out if you haven't already.**


End file.
